GCSE Spanish

Curriculum Intent 2022-2023

Languages are an integral part of the curriculum. Learning a language is ‘a liberation from insularity and provides an opening to other
cultures. It helps to equip pupils with the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. It encourages pupils to appreciate and
celebrate difference. The languages curriculum should also provide the foundation for learning further languages. It should enable pupils to
study and work in other countries. In doing this, the languages curriculum has a potential positive impact on business and the economy.
OFSTED curriculum review, June 2021.

With over 450 million native speakers, Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world. Spoken as a first language in 21 countries,
learning Spanish can take you further than you ever imagined. The ability to speak Spanish will allow you to discover the rich culture of not
only Spain itself, but also almost all countries in Central and South America. Having the ability to speak even a little Spanish whilst travelling
can open up new experiences and can give you valuable insight into the lives of native Spanish speakers.

With such a range of countries having Spanish as their official language, knowing Spanish is extremely useful in the international job market
and can strengthen your CV and improve job prospects. This can open the doors to a wide variety of challenging opportunities within
businesses not only across the globe but also within England, from the nationwide bank, Santander, to Seat at Bentley in Crewe. Further
afield, the United States has recently been cited as the second largest Spanish-speaking country in the world, where an estimated 37.6 million
people speak it as their first language. As the US has the world’s largest economy and the Hispanic population in the US is projected to double
by 2050, this makes Spanish enormously important if you aspire to work abroad. In addition, you could use your Spanish knowledge to
volunteer abroad and help a community where many charitable organizations carry out work such as building schools for those less fortunate.
This shows how important it is to be able to speak this language. It really does prepare you for the future!
As well as learning the language, you will be given the opportunity to study the culture of these countries. Spain and Spanish speaking
countries have arguably the most interesting cultural traditions including thousands of weird, wacky and fun festivals. Learning about these
events opens up a whole new world of traditions for you to experience, from the bull run of San Fermín to the baby jumping festival of El
Colacho! This also allows you to put into perspective your own culture and compare what you consider to be the norm with that of other
countries. A knowledge of Spanish also offers access to great works of literature in the original Spanish, as well as films and songs. Spanish
is the language of inspirational figures such as Federico Garcia Lorca, Gabriel García Márquez, Penélope Cruz, Enrique Iglesias, Shakira and
even David de Gea or Lionel Messi! At school, you will be able to apply your speaking skill by taking part in the Inter House Languages
competition where you will be involved with the local primary school and whole community as pupils watch your plays. If you can speak
another language other than English, you will have the opportunity to become a Language Ambassador and work on specific language related
tasks. Furthermore, you will have the opportunity to participate in school visits. This will allow you to get involved in a different community but
also make you realise the lifelong effect of learning Spanish when are able to communicate effectively with native Spanish speakers. You will
also study a couple of Spanish films, which will demonstrate some strong cultural differences within Spain.
Speaking Spanish opens up opportunities to study at renowned Spanish speaking universities and business schools, ranked among the top
higher education institutions in Europe and the world. We have had students who have studied Spanish at GCSE then A level leading to
studying in a Spanish speaking country for their degree.
Spanish is a rich, beautiful, and melodic language. Whether it is one of the beautiful varieties of Latin American Spanish, or Castilian Spanish
from Spain. Spanish is a Romance language and is famous for being pleasant on the ears. As well as being enjoyable, it has been
scientifically proven that learning a language is a stimulating activity for your brain and thus leads to your own personal
development. Learning a language like Spanish is a great way to keep your brain young and provide excellent mental stimulation. Language
learning boosts your memory by prompting you to memorise new vocabulary and grammar rules. In addition, it challenges and improves the
cognitive functions of your brain allowing you to become a faster and more effective learner. Learning a language has many social benefits,
for example your confidence grows as you push yourself out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself to speak in another language to a
native speaker. You will become more resilient and as you learn more and more, you will start to feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment
and self-satisfaction. This motivational journey will enable you to be more prepared and have the confidence to tackle other challenges in life.
As well as this, learning a language allows you to improve your English by spotting similarities between the two and correcting misconceptions
within your own native language.

For all these reasons, we feel that through your Spanish journey you will be prepared to access a much broader world. The curriculum
provides breadth and depth, and you will be able to study topics such as holidays, local environment or new technology. As the course goes
on, you will develop a greater understanding of the Spanish language as well as different aspects of Spanish culture. You will develop a
knowledge and achieve something which will make you different from other pupils. The topics have been chosen based on the appropriate
specification and we have strategically planned out when to teach them and how long to dedicate to each of them, allowing plenty of time for
revision and future preparation for the exams.

It would not be fair or true to say that learning Spanish is easy; language learning takes time, effort and dedication. The acquisition of
vocabulary and grammar knowledge is relentless, but we make no apology for this! The rewards for perseverance are enormous; you never
know which doors might just open for you because of your language skills. Employers and universities recognise that learning a language
shows resilience and tenacity and will respect and value you for this. Your teachers will guide you safely through the course, preparing you
for the exams and beyond, but this is your grade for a reason. Spending just five minutes a day reading through your class notes, revisiting
grammar points or learning vocabulary is worth more than half an hour once a week. The dividend for trawling meticulously through your
written pieces, to correct and improve them will come when you sit your writing exam and can tackle any essay question with ease and
confidence. You will be able to develop resilience that will help you in the future. Making links to a whole host of related words from one word
you’ve just discovered, will train your brain to find connections and break down words more easily, keeping your brain firing on all cylinders
(you’re welcome).
Trips and visits
Not applicable

Assessment
Students will be tested in listening, reading, speaking and writing and will develop transferable skills, relevant to further study and the world of
work. The range of topics within the specification aims to inspire students who are interested in Spanish culture and Spanish speaking
countries. Students study all of the following themes on which the assessments are based.
Theme 1: Identity and culture
Theme 2: Local, national, international and global areas of interest
Theme 3: Current and future study and employment
GCSE Spanish has a Foundation Tier (grades 1–5) and a Higher Tier (grades 4–9). Students must take all four question papers at the same
tier.
Please see website for the formal internal assessment record.

Homework
The pupils need to learn 65 expressions on a fortnightly basis leading to fortnightly tests.
The other week, the students need to learn or reinforce vocabulary/verbs by using ‘Memrise’ and their course vocabulary booklets.
Improvements to written tasks and speaking questions and other exercises as set by individual teachers.

Clubs and/or intervention

Friday lunch revision clinic.

Parental/Carer support
As ever, parental support is invaluable. Any support parents can give to help their child to learn is always welcome. Parental vocabulary
checking and discussion of in class learning helps to reinforce learning.

Helpful sources of information

Memrise
Quizlet
AQA website and use of past papers
elpais.es (reading practice)
RTVE.es (live TV and radio)
http://www.listenlive.eu/spain.html (live radio stations)

Connections to future pathways

Careers
Careers where a language degree would be useful include: Interpreter, Secondary school teacher, Translator, Import/export, Travel industry,
Broadcast journalist, Detective, Diplomatic service officer, Education consultant, English as a foreign language teacher, Import/export,
International aid/development worker, IT, Logistics and distribution manager, Marketing executive, Patent examiner, Public relations, Private
tutor, Project manager, Sales executive, Solicitor, Tour manager, Writer

Significant local employers include: Bet 365, Muller yoghurt, Bentley, Networld Sports

Degree courses where languages are required/useful to gain entry: Classical Studies – useful, Economics or Business related degrees –
useful, English - sometimes essential, always useful, European Studies - essential, 2 languages even more useful, Film Studies – useful,
German - essential, 2 languages even more useful, History – useful, History of Art – useful, Italian - essential, 2 languages even more useful,
Law – useful, Leisure and Tourism – very useful , Philosophy – useful, Speech Therapy – useful, Teacher Training - essential in some cases,
useful in all.

Transferable skills: communication skills, adaptability/resilience /resourcefulness, independent learner, cultural development, global
awareness.

Year 10 Overview

Term Knowledge Assessment Connections to learning

Me, my family and friends
Autumn
Who doesn’t want to talk about themselves?! Here, we’ll get you doing it in Spanish. We want to know who you are, what your
1
friends and family are like and what your opinions on important things like marriage and children are.
 ➢ Describing self, family, friends and ➢ Fortnightly vocabulary / key phrases ➢ Looking for clues when listening
pets testing ➢ Learning to distinguish word types
➢ Relationships with family and friends ➢ Other exercises as set by the teacher ➢ Understanding questions
➢ Marriage and partnership, future such as learning and revising ➢ Spotting patterns
plans – marriage in Spain and UK vocabulary and verb conjugations on ➢ Spotting grammatical signposts
➢ Present tense – tener, ser, regular ‘Memrise’ ➢ Looking for near-cognates
and irregular verbs There could also be some translations, ➢ Thinking creatively in speaking
➢ Adjectives – agreement and position redrafting of written work following ➢ Achieving a fluent translation
➢ Reflexive verbs detailed marking by your teacher. ➢ Ignoring words which are not needed
➢ Possessive pronouns/adjectives ➢ Speaking exam preparation starts as ➢ Using cognates and near-cognates
➢ Revision of future tense well and you will be asked to prepare ➢ Understanding near-cognates when
➢ Revision of verbs followed by answers to specific topic and theme listening
infinitive related questions. ➢ Answering unprepared questions
1. Personal development
2. Social development

Free time activities

What makes you tick? We know you in a classroom, in uniform, but what about after school? Do you love going to the cinema?
Alternatively, is it extreme sports like bungee jumping, which you are fond of? In this unit, we’ll teach you how to tell us all about
in Spanish.
➢ Describing what you like & don’t like ➢ Fortnightly vocabulary / key phrases ➢ Listening for key information
doing testing ➢ Working out the meaning of new words
➢ Talking about your free time ➢ Other exercises as set by the teacher ➢ Asking for clarification
➢ Talking about sports you do now such as learning and revising ➢ Word patterns
and sports you will do in the future vocabulary and verb conjugations on ➢ Listening for essential words
Autumn ➢ Impersonal opinion verbs ‘Memrise’ ➢ Spotting feminine nouns
2 gustar/encantar etc There could also be some translations, ➢ Coping strategies
➢ Present tense recap redrafting of written work following ➢ Pronunciation of verb endings
• Present tense – jugar, hacer detailed marking by your teacher. ➢ Building your speaking and writing
• Extending sentences by using ➢ Speaking exam preparation starts as skills
connectives well and you will be asked to prepare ➢ Collecting useful phrases
• Using the future tense answers to specific topic and theme ➢ Adding opinions to produce more
• Recognising & using 2 tenses related questions. complex sentences
together ➢ Making use of grammatical markers
➢ Listening for detail
➢ Translation strategies
 ➢ Using common patterns between
Spanish and English when reading
➢ Structuring a debate

2. Social development
3. Physical development
6. Cultural development

Technology in everyday life

We will look at the use of what takes a huge part in the life of teenagers: mobile technology. You will be able to discuss and write
about what you do with it, but also discuss what the risk and dangers are with social media.
➢ Using Facebook/social media ➢ Fortnightly vocabulary / key phrases ➢ Paraphrasing
➢ Social networks testing ➢ Spotting different words used to
➢ Mobile phones ➢ Other exercises as set by the teacher express the same idea
➢ Comparisons using más /menos que such as learning and revising ➢ Using context when listening
➢ Direct and indirect object pronouns vocabulary and verb conjugations on ➢ Requesting help
Spring ➢ Past tense – preterite and/or perfect ‘Memrise’ ➢ Using a word which refers to a similar
1 depending on ability There could also be some translations, item
➢ Using por and para redrafting of written work following ➢ Making use of social and cultural
detailed marking by your teacher. context when reading
➢ Speaking exam preparation starts as ➢ Developing knowledge of Spanish-
well and you will be asked to prepare speaking countries
answers to specific topic and theme
related questions.

Customs and festivals in Spanish-speaking countries and communities

Spring
Have you ever spent New Year’s Eve watching amazing fireworks? What do you think of Christmas: is it too commercial or
2
should we help the poor at this time of year? How do we spend Christmas in Spain? What do you know of la Tomatina or other
celebrations? In this unit, you’ll find out how you might if you spend 31st December in Spain!
 ➢ Typical Spanish food & drink ➢ Fortnightly vocabulary / key phrases ➢ Using grammatical markers
➢ Buying food & eating out testing ➢ Describing something when the word
➢ Spanish life and routines – compare ➢ Other exercises as set by the teacher is unknown
with UK such as learning and revising ➢ Using drawing to help with
➢ General celebrations vocabulary and verb conjugations on communication
➢ Yearly celebrations ‘Memrise’ ➢ Breaking down long words to aid
➢ Festivals in Spanish speaking There could also be some translations, comprehension
countries redrafting of written work following ➢ Recognising key topic words in
➢ Recap gustar and encantar type detailed marking by your teacher. reading and listening tasks
berns ➢ Speaking exam preparation starts as ➢ Building longer sentences
➢ Revising the present tense – well and you will be asked to prepare ➢ Simplification and paraphrasing
regular, radical changing and answers to specific topic and theme ➢ Using intensifiers
irregular related questions.
➢ Preterite tense – regular + ser, ir, 6. Cultural development
tener.estar
➢ Forming and using adverbs
➢ Imperfect tense
➢ Using 2 or more tenses in writing
and speaking (using adverbs of
time)
Home town, neighbourhood and region
Summer Are you fiercely proud of your Harry Potter bedroom? Do you love your garden because it is the size of a football pitch, with a
1 goal at either end? Does the lack of cinema in Nantwich annoy you? Do you think that there is nothing to do in the area, or do
you think the countryside is brilliant for hiking? This is the unit to tell us all about it!
 ➢ Describing house and rooms
➢ Local area & facilities
➢ Living plans in future
➢ Problems with the environment
➢ What we can do to help the
environment
➢ Using hay, ser and estar
➢ Using prepositions
➢ Using quantifiers
➢ Using puedo and se puede
➢ Using imperfect, present and future
tenses together
➢ Forming questions
➢ Fortnightly vocabulary / key phrases
testing
➢ Other exercises as set by the teacher
such as learning and revising
vocabulary and verb conjugations on
‘Memrise’
There could also be some translations,
redrafting of written work following
detailed marking by your teacher.
➢ Speaking exam preparation starts as
well and you will be asked to prepare
answers to specific topic and theme
related questions.
➢ Ignoring words that are not needed
➢ Using cognates and near-cognates
➢ Using layout to help understanding
➢ Reading authentic texts
➢ Using verbal context when listening
➢ Using questions to formulate answers
➢ Recognising common patterns in
Spanish when listening
➢ Using negatives to add complexity
2. Social development

Social Issues – Volunteering and healthy living

Does the thought of a gap year excite you? How might you spend it? Helping people around the world and in your community.
You might want to help fighting the Ebola virus in Western Africa or simply help your local food bank. This might sound a little
complicated to be able to say all this in Spanish, but trust us, we’ll get you there.
We will also look at how to talk about healthy living and how to improve our daily routines and health habits.
➢ Voluntary and charity work ➢ Fortnightly vocabulary / key phrases ➢ Spotting near-cognates when listening
➢ Healthy lifestyles testing ➢ Using grammatical categories
➢ Health in the past ➢ Other exercises as set by the teacher ➢ Recognising suffixes
➢ Verbs followed by the infinitive such as learning and revising ➢ Looking for words inside other words
Summer ➢ Revision of future tense vocabulary and verb conjugations on ➢ Making use of social and cultural
2 ➢ Using me gustaría ‘Memrise’ context when listening
➢ Conditional tense There could also be some translations, ➢ Tackling ‘Positive, Negative or
➢ Using expressions with tener redrafting of written work following Positive/Negative tasks
➢ Negatives detailed marking by your teacher. ➢ Agreeing and disagreeing in a
➢ Present subjunctive ➢ Speaking exam preparation starts as discussion
well and you will be asked to prepare ➢ Dealing with longer texts.
answers to specific topic and theme 2. Social development including political
related questions. and current affairs awareness
1&3. Personal and physical
developments

Year 11 Overview
Term Knowledge Assessment Connections to learning
Global issues
My studies and Life at School
Autumn Here we also move away from looking at ourselves and our own lives and we take a more outwardly look at the world. How can we
1 save our planet? What are the causes of environmental problems and what can we do about them? We look at homelessness and
take a moment to stand in somebody else’s shoes. What must it feel like?
If you were not able to take part in the Spanish exchange and experience first-hand life in a Spanish educational establishment, then
you will be able to understand the differences between Spanish and English schools. Do you like school rules? You will be able to
express your views and opinions in Spanish about them and move onto what your ideal school would look like.
 ➢ Helping the environment ➢ Fortnightly vocabulary / key phrases ➢ Using paraphrasing
➢ Environmental problems (global and testing ➢ Using adjectives to improve a piece of
local) ➢ Other exercises as set by the teacher work
➢ Poverty such as learning and revising ➢ Using social / cultural context to
➢ Homelessness vocabulary and verb conjugations on understand meaning
➢ Using wider range of impersonal verbs ‘Memrise’ ➢ Adding complexity to written and
eg preocupar, molestar There could also be some translations, spoken language
➢ Using if sentences redrafting of written work following ➢ Recognising cognates and near-
➢ Using the words of algo and alguien detailed marking by your teacher. cognates when reading
➢ Using modal verbs ➢ Speaking exam preparation starts as ➢ Reading for gist
➢ Using reflexive constructions – se debe, well and you will be asked to prepare 2. Social development including political
se puede + infinitive answers to specific topic and theme and current affairs awareness
➢ Using me encanta, me preocupa etc related questions. 5. Moral development
with infinitive

➢ Subjects, timetable and teachers

➢ The school day
➢ My school
➢ Spanish school system
➢ School uniform and school rules
➢ Revision of
comparatives/superlatives
➢ Telling the time
➢ Understanding the imperative
➢ Using mucho, poco, bastante,
demasiado
➢ The personal a
➢ Revision of verbs followed by the
infinitive: se debe, hay que, tener
que
➢ debería ser/estar
Education post-16, Jobs, Careers and ambitions
Autumn This is the end. You need to decide what you are going to do next. 6 th Form, apprenticeship? You will be able to discuss in Spanish
2 what the choices are and why they are good or not so good. You will be able to discuss jobs and why they are fantastic and perfect for
you, or the opposite
 ➢ Post-16 choices ➢ Fortnightly vocabulary / key phrases
➢ University or work? testing
➢ Future jobs and careers ➢ Other exercises as set by the teacher
➢ Revising the future tense such as learning and revising
➢ Using si clauses vocabulary and verb conjugations on
➢ Using lo/lo que + adjective ‘Memrise’
➢ Using quisiera There could also be some translations,
➢ Conditional tense redrafting of written work following
detailed marking by your teacher.
➢ Speaking exam preparation starts as
well and you will be asked to prepare
answers to specific topic and theme
related questions.
➢ Translating into Spanish and
encountering translation problems
➢ Modes of address
➢ Telling the time
➢ Using grammatical markers and
categories
➢ Describing physical properties
➢ Pointing and demonstration
➢ Using visual and verbal context in
reading
➢ Using more than one tense in one
sentence
1. Personal development

Travel and Tourism

This is the part of the course you will find the most useful! How many times are your parents saying ‘Come on, you can order, you do
Spanish at school!’. In this unit, we will be looking at booking accommodation and how to talk about holidays. Hopefully, by the end
of this unit, you’ll be planning your visit to Spain!
➢ Weather and countries ➢ Fortnightly vocabulary / key phrases ➢ Simplifying what you say
➢ Accommodation/facilities/ testing ➢ Listening for different ways of saying
➢ transactions ➢ Other exercises as set by the teacher the same thing
Spring ➢ City breaks such as learning and revising ➢ Ignoring words which are not needed
1 ➢ Describing a past holiday vocabulary and verb conjugations on in the listening tests
➢ Revising use of preterite and imperfect ‘Memrise’ ➢ Being aware of faux amis when
tenses There could also be some translations, translating into English
➢ Using formal and informal forms of redrafting of written work following ➢ Using quien and que to help you refer
address detailed marking by your teacher. to something
➢ Using estar + past participle ➢ Speaking exam preparation starts as ➢ Using Spanish idioms
➢ Using the passive and passive forms well and you will be asked to prepare
with se answers to specific topic and theme
related questions.
Revision
Spring 2
You will be using the lessons to revise different topics, go through past papers, look at exam technique, and reinforce learning. All
And
the speaking elements will be rehearsed to prepare you for the speaking exam, which will involve practising role-play and photo
Summer
cards, and all the questions related to the general conversation. Practice for writing, listening and reading papers will also take
1
place.
➢ Revision of all themes and sub-themes
➢ Practise all skills for each theme
➢ Finalise speaking questions and
practise them in order to improve
fluency and quality of language
➢ Practise exam papers (Exampro)
➢ Fortnightly vocabulary / key phrases
testing
➢ Other exercises as set by the teacher
such as learning and revising
vocabulary and verb conjugations on
‘Memrise’
There could also be some translations,
redrafting of written work following
detailed marking by your teacher.
➢ Speaking exam preparation starts as
well and you will be asked to prepare
answers to specific topic and theme
related questions.